Phil Fearon
Encyclopedia
Phil Fearon is a British
record producer
. He was the lead singer, songwriter
and keyboardist
for the 1980s band
Galaxy.
, Galaxy was not a true group of musician
s but a front for an individual producing all the music
in a studio
environment, with two female backing singers to supplement the recording sound (Dorothy Galdes & Julie Gore). Galaxy's best known hits were "Dancing Tight", "What Do I Do?" , "Everybody's Laughing" and "I Can Prove It", which were all up-beat commercial pop
song
s, hitting the Top Ten of the UK Singles Chart
. Before forming Galaxy, Fearon was a member of the band Kandidate. Galaxy's records
were distinctly early 1980s in style, with prominent use of keyboards
and synthesizer
s, and his version of "Ain't Nothing but a House Party" was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman
. Galaxy's popularity waned in the late 1980s, with the trend moving towards acid house
, though the later single
, a cover version
of The Showstoppers' "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty" was an early example of this genre. In 1987, Fearon founded and managed
a successful record label
called Production House Records
with Laurie Jago and Raj Malkani, moving away from performing to producing other acts
.
Fearon returned to performing as a special guest at the Caister Soul Weekender in May 2010. He was also the headline act at the 'Party In The Park' at Milton Keynes
on 4 September 2010. A Phil Fearon biography entitled 'Chocolate Dreams' by author Christopher Shaw, is due to be published in November 2011.
song "Let Me Be Your Fantasy
".
Their daughter Stephanie
is an actress and singer, who appeared on the CITV
show, My Parents Are Aliens
, and was later a semi-finalist on the 2010 BBC talent search Over the Rainbow
.
Above tracks credited variously as follows:-
+ Galaxy
† Galaxy featuring Phil Fearon
‡ Phil Fearon and Galaxy
¥ Phil Fearon and Galaxy featuring Dee Galdes
~ Phil Fearon
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He was the lead singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
for the 1980s band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Galaxy.
Career
Similar to the RAH BandRichard Anthony Hewson
Richard Anthony Hewson is an English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, who is best recognized for his studio group The RAH Band.-Career:...
, Galaxy was not a true group of musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s but a front for an individual producing all the music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
in a studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
environment, with two female backing singers to supplement the recording sound (Dorothy Galdes & Julie Gore). Galaxy's best known hits were "Dancing Tight", "What Do I Do?" , "Everybody's Laughing" and "I Can Prove It", which were all up-beat commercial pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, hitting the Top Ten of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Before forming Galaxy, Fearon was a member of the band Kandidate. Galaxy's records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
were distinctly early 1980s in style, with prominent use of keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, and his version of "Ain't Nothing but a House Party" was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...
. Galaxy's popularity waned in the late 1980s, with the trend moving towards acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
, though the later single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Showstoppers' "Ain't Nothin' But a Houseparty" was an early example of this genre. In 1987, Fearon founded and managed
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
a successful record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
called Production House Records
Production House Records
Production House Records was formed in 1987 by Phil Fearon. Laurie Jago and Raj Malkani. Fearon enjoyed a string of hits in the 1980s as producer and frontman of British soul/dance/pop collective; Galaxy....
with Laurie Jago and Raj Malkani, moving away from performing to producing other acts
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Fearon returned to performing as a special guest at the Caister Soul Weekender in May 2010. He was also the headline act at the 'Party In The Park' at Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
on 4 September 2010. A Phil Fearon biography entitled 'Chocolate Dreams' by author Christopher Shaw, is due to be published in November 2011.
Personal life
Fearon is married to Dorothy "Dee" Galdes, the vocalist for the Baby DBaby D (dance group)
Baby D is the name of a UK breakbeat hardcore and house music band, best known for their single "Let Me Be Your Fantasy", #1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1994.-Career:...
song "Let Me Be Your Fantasy
Let Me Be Your Fantasy
"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" is a song by Baby D, which became a number one UK single in 1994.-Song information:"Let Me Be Your Fantasy" originated in 1992 at the height of the rave scene...
".
Their daughter Stephanie
Stephanie Fearon
Stephanie Leanne Fearon is a British stage and television actress most noted for her TV appearances in the CITV show My Parents Are Aliens and the BBC talent-search Over The Rainbow....
is an actress and singer, who appeared on the CITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
show, My Parents Are Aliens
My Parents are Aliens
My Parents are Aliens is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television and later Granada Productions for CITV about an eccentric family, which was produced as seven annual series, first broadcast in 1999 and ending in 2006...
, and was later a semi-finalist on the 2010 BBC talent search Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow (2010 TV series)
Over the Rainbow is a British television talent series which aired on BBC One from March to May 2010. It documents the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Dorothy in the forthcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber stage production of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and a...
.
Singles
- "Head Over Heels" - 1982 - #77 +
- "Dancing Tight" - 1983 - #4 †
- "Wait Until Tonight (My Love)" - 1983 - #20 †
- "Fantasy Real" - 1983 - #41 ‡
- "What Do I Do" - 1984 - #5 ‡
- "Everybody's Laughing" - 1984 - #10 ‡
- "You Don't Need a Reason" - 1985 - #42 ‡
- "This Kind of Love" - 1985 - #70 ¥
- "I Can Prove It" - 1986 - #8 ~
- "Ain't Nothing But a Houseparty" - 1986 - #60 ~
- "Nothing Is Too Good For You" - 1987 ~
Above tracks credited variously as follows:-
+ Galaxy
† Galaxy featuring Phil Fearon
‡ Phil Fearon and Galaxy
¥ Phil Fearon and Galaxy featuring Dee Galdes
~ Phil Fearon
Albums
- Phil Fearon and Galaxy - 1984 - #8 - Ensign RecordsEnsign RecordsEnsign Records was started in 1976 by Nigel Grainge, as an independent Phonogram subsidiary.-History:Grainge had been the head of A&R at Phonogram in London for the previous two years and directly signed Thin Lizzy, 10cc, The Steve Miller Band, and a worldwide license for the successful All...
- This Kind of Love - 1985 - #98 - Ensign Records
- The Best Of Phil Fearon & Galaxy - 1991 - Ensign/Chrysalis
- Dancing Tight - The Best Of Phil Fearon & Galaxy - 1992 - Ensign
- The Best Of Phil Fearon & Galaxy - 1994 - Music Club
- Dancing Tight - All The Hits Extended - 1995 - More Music
- Greatest Hits - 1996 - EMI Gold
- Phil Fearon & Galaxy - All The Hits - 2001 - Disky
- Phil Fearon & Galaxy - All The Hits - 2001 - EMI Gold